.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.

Thegman said:
Worked well but the damage to the lungs was a little less than I expected after seeing the explosive pics in this thread.
Click to expand...

All bullets show variability, however that is a smaller wound than any I have seen at that impact speed. That’s about the smallest of what they do below 1,600fps impact.

You are positive it was a 77gr Tipped Matchking (green tip), and not a Sierra Matchking (no tip)?
 
Another bull elk data point.

Tikka T3X lite .223, SWFA 3-9, and AAC factory 77 grain TMKs

The shot was 90 yards broadside (~2,530 fps on impact), about 1" behind the shoulder.23' elk rifle.jpgAfter the shot, the bull ran straight up a steep, rocky knob. I briefly thought something like, "OH no, that little .22 bullet bounced off the elk!," but he went down after about 45 yards. He was lying on the ground within 10 seconds of the shot and lying still within 1 minute.

23' elk shot.jpg
The bullet did not pass through, but seemed to liquify everything in the vital area. I lost a little meat from the very back of the entrance side shoulder. I was a little worried when I pulled back the shoulder that I was going to lose it all, but the inside of it was just covered with that red jello stuff (TMK soup?) and most of the meat was fine. If my shot had been 3-4" farther back I don't think I would have lost any meat.
23' elk shoulder.jpg
With the shoulder and hide removed you could see a golf ball sized entry hole.
23' elk entrance.jpg
There was no blood trail to follow (unnecessary in this case), but there was TMK soup all over the place around the bull.

Overall, I was happy with the performance of the setup and look forward to using it on other animals. Thanks Roksliders for helping to open my mind to something that no one I know would have thought was a good idea. Let's keep this thread on track with lots of damage pics this hunting season!
 
Last edited:
Formidilosus said:
All bullets show variability, however that is a smaller wound than any I have seen at that impact speed. That’s about the smallest of what they do below 1,600fps impact.

You are positive it was a 77gr Tipped Matchking (green tip), and not a Sierra Matchking (no tip)?
Click to expand...
Resized_20231014_125007.jpeg

100% positive

Velocity was running about 2,710-2,720 during load workup with Alliant 2000MR

Was right around 2,700 when I re-checked zero two days ago (colder weather may account for that, or just normal SD, or both?)

Impact should have been right around 2,000 fps or a bit above per Strelok and drop was right on per Strelok as well. No way it could have been sub-1,600 impact.

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it; you have magnitudes more experience with results than I do. I was wondering if I overestimated what I'd seen in all the pics, or it really was less than typical.

I'll be taking the rifle to Kodiak in a few days. If all goes well I'll increase my experience with it by a few animals.
 
sargent said:
It's not the mature bull I was hoping to post on here, but another bull elk data point.

Tikka T3X lite .223, SWFA 3-9, and AAC factory 77 grain TMKs

The shot was 90 yards broadside (~2,530 fps on impact), about 1" behind the shoulder.View attachment 613886After the shot, the bull ran straight up a steep, rocky knob. I briefly thought something like, "OH no, that little .22 bullet bounced off the elk!," but he went down after about 45 yards. He was lying on the ground within 10 seconds of the shot and lying still within 1 minute.

View attachment 613887
The bullet did not pass through, but seemed to liquify everything in the vital area. I lost a little meat from the very back of the entrance side shoulder. I was a little worried when I pulled back the shoulder that I was going to lose it all, but the inside of it was just covered with that red jello stuff (TMK soup?) and most of the meat was fine. If my shot had been 3-4" farther back I don't think I would have lost any meat.
View attachment 613889
With the shoulder and hide removed you could see a golf ball sized entry hole.
View attachment 613890
There was no blood trail to follow (unnecessary in this case), but there was TMK soup all over the place around the bull.

Overall, I was happy with the performance of the setup and look forward to using it on other animals. Thanks Roksliders for helping to open my mind to something that no one I know would have thought was a good idea. Let's keep this thread on track with lots of damage pics this hunting season!
Click to expand...
Well done and thank you for sharing your experience!

It’s funny how bullets work.

Had a good friend kill a 6x6 today with a 175 ELDX out of a 7PRC at 228 yards. He shot the bull three times. Twice through the lungs and once through the heart. Not a single projectile exited. Not a single drop of blood.
 
Last edited:
sargent said:
It's not the mature bull I was hoping to post on here, but another bull elk data point.

Tikka T3X lite .223, SWFA 3-9, and AAC factory 77 grain TMKs

The shot was 90 yards broadside (~2,530 fps on impact), about 1" behind the shoulder.View attachment 613886After the shot, the bull ran straight up a steep, rocky knob. I briefly thought something like, "OH no, that little .22 bullet bounced off the elk!," but he went down after about 45 yards. He was lying on the ground within 10 seconds of the shot and lying still within 1 minute.

View attachment 613887
The bullet did not pass through, but seemed to liquify everything in the vital area. I lost a little meat from the very back of the entrance side shoulder. I was a little worried when I pulled back the shoulder that I was going to lose it all, but the inside of it was just covered with that red jello stuff (TMK soup?) and most of the meat was fine. If my shot had been 3-4" farther back I don't think I would have lost any meat.
View attachment 613889
With the shoulder and hide removed you could see a golf ball sized entry hole.
View attachment 613890
There was no blood trail to follow (unnecessary in this case), but there was TMK soup all over the place around the bull.

Overall, I was happy with the performance of the setup and look forward to using it on other animals. Thanks Roksliders for helping to open my mind to something that no one I know would have thought was a good idea. Let's keep this thread on track with lots of damage pics this hunting season!
Click to expand...
Gives me even more confidence in the little 6 ARC I am putting together. Congratulations and thanks for posting this.
 
sargent said:
It's not the mature bull I was hoping to post on here, but another bull elk data point.
Click to expand...

That’s a bad ass bull, don’t caveat it.



sargent said:
Overall, I was happy with the performance of the setup and look forward to using it on other animals. Thanks Roksliders for helping to open my mind to something that no one I know would have thought was a good idea. Let's keep this thread on track with lots of damage pics this hunting season!
Click to expand...


Good job all the way around.
 
Thegman said:
View attachment 613943

100% positive

Velocity was running about 2,710-2,720 during load workup with Alliant 2000MR

Was right around 2,700 when I re-checked zero two days ago (colder weather may account for that, or just normal SD, or both?)

Impact should have been right around 2,000 fps or a bit above per Strelok and drop was right on per Strelok as well. No way it could have been sub-1,600 impact.

Thanks for your input, I appreciate it; you have magnitudes more experience with results than I do. I was wondering if I overestimated what I'd seen in all the pics, or it really was less than typical.
Click to expand...


Appreciate the confirmation. While that wound is still certainly effective, I believe you will find that it was an outlier and they tend to be quite a bit more destructive.
 
Got some 69grn tmk loaded up for the Kimber today. Shot pretty close to the point of impact the 62grn ttsx were shooting to. Anyone word on how the 69 compare to the 77?
 
You guys really have me debating re-barreling my .308 before I even shot anything with it. To pair with my 6 creed
 
PNWGATOR said:
Well done and thank you for sharing your experience!

It’s funny how bullets work.

Had a good friend kill a 6x6 today with a 175 ELDX out of a 7PRC at 228 yards. He shot the bull three times. Twice through the lungs and once through the heart. Not a single projectile exited. Not a single drop of blood.
Click to expand...
What did the elk do? I'm just curious because I've had great success with the 162 gr ELD X.

And from what I've seen in this thread, wouldn't you expect similar performance from the TMK of no exit and not much blood trail, but (the possible exception depending on what your friend found) total destruction inside?

(Honest questions - no hostility implied at all)
 
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